Power source redundancy in a power supply

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are various embodiments of power source redundancy in a power supply for a rack mounted computing device. The power supply includes a plurality of AC power converters configured to receive power from corresponding power sources. A first AC power converter provides DC power to a common DC bus of the power supply. A second AC power converter provides DC power to the common DC bus in response to a change in the voltage level provided by the first AC power converter.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, and claims priority to,co-pending U.S. Patent Application entitled “POWER SOURCE REDUNDANCY INA POWER SUPPLY” having Ser. No. 12/980,002, filed on Dec. 28, 2010,which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

In large scale computing centers, it is possible that thousands ofservers may be running at a single time. Typically, servers include asingle AC power input that may be mechanically switched between separateAC power sources to provide for power input redundancy. This ensuresthat if one of the AC power sources goes down, power to the servers canbe quickly restored to continue operation. However, the expense andreliability of the switching device can make such a system undesirable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood withreference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings arenot necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the disclosure. Moreover, in thedrawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding partsthroughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a drawing of one example of a computing device with multiplepower inputs according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a drawing of an example of a power supply of the computingdevice of FIG. 1 according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 is a drawing of another example of a power supply of thecomputing device of FIG. 1 according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating one example of functionality of apower redundancy monitoring (PRM) application implemented in either ofthe processors of FIG. 1 or FIG. 3 according to various embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

According to various embodiments, various systems and methods areemployed to ensure power redundancy for computing devices. Commonly,various rack mounted computing devices such as those in server banks andthe like each include a single AC power input that is connected to an ACpower source through a mechanical automatic transfer switch (ATS).Ideally, the ATS switches from a primary power source to a secondarypower source when the primary power source goes down. However, switchingdelays and transition effects may result in shutdown of the computingdevices. Thus, removing the expensive and somewhat unreliable ATSs maybe advantageous. Various approaches are described herein to ensure thatpower is maintained in a rack mounted computing device (e.g., a server)by internally transitioning between two or more power inputs of thecomputing device. In the following discussion, a general description ofthe system and its components is provided, followed by a discussion ofthe operation of the same.

With reference to FIG. 1, shown is a rack mounted computing device 100according to various embodiments. The rack mounted computing device 100may comprise, for example, a server or any other device providingcomputing capability. According to various embodiments, a plurality ofcomputing devices 100 may be employed that are arranged, for example, inone or more server banks or computer banks or other arrangements. Forexample, a plurality of computing devices 100 together may comprise acloud computing resource, a grid computing resource, and/or any otherdistributed computing arrangement. Such rack mounted computing devices100 may be located in a rack at a single installation or may bedistributed among multiple racks at the same or many differentgeographical locations. For purposes of convenience, the computingdevice 100 is referred to herein in the singular. Even though thecomputing device is referred to in the singular, it is understood that aplurality of computing devices 100 may be employed in the variousarrangements, as described above.

The rack mounted computing device 100 includes at least one processorcircuit, for example, having a processor 103 and a memory 106, both ofwhich are coupled to a local interface 109. To this end, the computingdevice 100 may comprise, for example, at least one server or likecomputing device. The local interface 109 may comprise, for example, adata bus with an accompanying address/control bus or other bus structureas can be appreciated. The computing device 100 may also includecommunication interfaces for interactions with other computing devicesor management systems.

Stored in the memory 106 are both data and several components that areexecutable by the processor 103. In particular, stored in the memory 106and executable by the processor 103 are an operating system 113, variousapplications 116, and potentially other applications. The applications116 generally comprise primary applications run on the computing device100 to accomplish various purposes. In some embodiments, the memory 106may also store a power redundancy monitoring (PRM) application 119. Alsostored in the memory 106 may be a data store and other data.

The rack mounted computing device 100 includes a power supply 123 havingtwo or more power inputs 126 that supply power from corresponding ACpower sources 129 through a bus connection or other appropriate circuitconnection. The power inputs 126 provide power to corresponding AC powerconverters 133, which are configured to convert AC power to DC power andto provide the DC power to a common DC bus or rail 136 in the powersupply 123. For example, the AC power converters 133 may include arectifier circuit to convert AC power to DC power. In some embodiments,a boost and/or a buck circuit may be used to adjust the DC voltage to adesired level. In one implementation, the AC power converters 133 areconfigured to convert 208-240 VAC power to DC power at a predefinedvoltage level (e.g., 400 VDC) and to provide it to the common DC bus136. A DC voltage regulator 139, included in the power supply 123,provides one or more DC voltages 143 to the computing device 100 foroperation. The DC voltage regulator 139 adjusts the DC bus voltage toprovide the DC power to the computing device at predefined voltagelevels through DC buses or rails. While a single DC voltage regulator139 is depicted, in other embodiments a plurality of DC voltageregulators 139 may be utilized to supply power at the predefined voltagelevels. For example, different elements within the computing device 100may receive power from one or more corresponding DC voltage regulators139.

For purposes of illustration, FIGS. 1-3 show various embodiments of therack mounted computing device 100 and other such devices having twopower inputs 126. However, where two power inputs 126 to a respectivedevice are shown and discussed herein, the recitation of two powerinputs 126 as such is merely representative of the fact that more thantwo power inputs 126 may also be employed. Accordingly, in anyembodiment described herein, two or more power inputs 126 may be used,where any power input 126 in addition to two provides greater powersource redundancy as can be appreciated.

Each of the power sources 129 may be configured to supply power tomultiple computing devices 100 as shown. Alternatively, in the variousembodiments described herein, the single power source 129 may be viewedas representing multiple parallel power sources that each couple to oneof the power inputs 126. In some implementations, a power source 129 maybe the primary supply for one or more computing device(s) 100 and thebackup supply for other computing device(s) 100. The computing devices100 may be assigned to balance loading of the power sources 129 duringnormal and backup operation.

Each of the power inputs 126 may comprise, for example, a receptacleinto which a power line 146 such as a power cord is plugged. In someembodiments, the power lines 146 may represent a quick disconnectblade-type or pin-type connection within a mounting rack that, when thecomputing device 100 is inserted into the rack, detachably connects thepower supply 123 to the power sources 129. Alternatively, the power line146 may be hard wired to the power supply 123 or other circuitry in thecomputing device 100.

A first AC power converter 133 acts as a primary supply to the common DCbus 136, while the other AC power converter 133 acts as a backup supply.For example, in the embodiment of FIG. 1, one AC power converter 133 isthe primary supply that provides all DC power while the other backup ACpower converter 133 remains idle. While idle, the backup AC powerconverter 133 may not provide any power to the common DC bus 136. Whenthe primary supply fails (e.g., upon loss of the corresponding AC powersource 129 or failure of the primary AC power converter 133), the backupAC power converter 133 assumes the system load by providing power to thecommon DC bus 136. As can be understood, a power supply 123 may includetwo or more backup AC power converters 133 to provide additionalredundancy for the computing device 100.

With reference to FIG. 2, shown is an example of the power supply 123 ofthe rack mounted computing device 100 (FIG. 1). In the embodiment ofFIG. 2, the power supply 123 includes a primary AC power converter 133 aconfigured to provide power to the common DC bus 136 at a first voltagelevel and a backup AC power converter 133 b configured to provide powerto the common DC bus 136 at a second voltage level that is less than thefirst voltage level. A diode 253 is included between the backup AC powerconverter 133 b and the common DC bus 136. During operation, the primaryAC power converter 133 a supplies power to the computing device 100 viathe common DC bus 136 and the DC voltage regulator 139. Because thebackup AC power converter 133 b operates at a lower voltage level, nopower is provided by the backup converter 133 b. The reverse biaseddiode 253 prevents the flow of current into the backup AC powerconverter 133 b.

When the voltage level of the primary AC power converter 133 a, and thusthe common DC bus 136, falls below the second voltage level of thebackup AC power converter 133 b (e.g., when the primary AC powerconverter 133 a or the corresponding AC power source 129 fails), thediode 253 is forward biased, and the backup AC power converter 133 bsupplies power to the computing device 100 via the common DC bus 136 andthe DC voltage regulator 139. The implementation of FIG. 2 allows for asmooth transition of load from the primary AC power converter 133 a tothe backup AC power converter 133 b. Reactive elements such as inductorsand capacitors may be included in the AC power converters 133 and/or onthe common DC bus to reduce transient effects such as current spikes andvoltage dips. When the power from the primary AC power converter 133 ais restored, the diode 253 is again reverse biased, and the backup ACpower converter 133 b returns to an idle state.

A second diode 256 may also be connected between the primary AC powerconverter 133 a and the common DC bus 136 as illustrated in FIG. 2. Whenthe primary AC power converter 133 a is supplying power to the common DCbus 136, the second diode 256 is forward biased. When the voltage levelof the primary AC power converter 133 a falls below the second voltagelevel of the backup AC power converter 133 b (e.g., during failure ofthe AC power source 129), the diode 256 becomes reverse biased andprevents the flow of current into the primary AC power converter 133 a.When the power from the primary AC power converter 133 a is restored,the diode 256 is forward biased to supply power to the common DC bus136, and the backup AC power converter 133 b returns to an idle state.

In other embodiments, an isolation device (e.g., a switch, relay, ortransistor) may be opened to disconnect and isolate the output of theprimary AC power converter 133 a from the common DC bus when the voltagedrops below a predefined level or threshold. The isolation device mayautomatically reclose when the voltage level is restored to above thesame or another predefined level or threshold. In some implementations,the isolation device may use a manual reset to allow reclosing.

Referring back to FIG. 1, other embodiments of the rack mountedcomputing device 100 may include a power redundancy monitoringapplication 119. When implemented by the processor 103, the powerredundancy monitoring (PRM) application 119 monitors operation of thepower supply 123 such as voltage levels and/or rates of change. Thepower redundancy monitoring application 119 may also control operationof the AC power converters 133 as will be discussed. In alternativeembodiments, such as that illustrated in FIG. 3, the power supply 123also includes memory 306 and a processor 303 that can store andimplement the power redundancy monitoring application 119.

In the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 3, a primary AC power converter 133supplies the common DC bus 136 at a first voltage level to provide powerto the computing device 100. The first voltage level may be set by thecircuitry of the primary AC power converter 133 or may be controlled bythe PRM application 119. For example, the voltage may be set by theswitching interval of the primary AC power converter 133. The switchinginterval may be fixed to provide a predefined voltage level or may bevariable to allow for adjustment of the voltage level. Reactive elementsmay be included in the primary AC power converter 133 to smooth outvariations in the supplied DC power. For example, a capacitor may beincluded to reduce voltage variations on the common DC bus 136, and aninductor may be included to reduce high rates of change in the supplycurrent.

If the output voltage of the primary AC power converter 133 on thecommon DC bus 136 begins to drop, the circuitry of the primary AC powerconverter 133 and/or the PRM application 119 may automatically adjustthe switching interval in an attempt to maintain the first voltagelevel. If the output voltage of the primary AC power converter 133 fallsbelow a second predefined voltage level or threshold, then the backup ACpower converter 133 begins providing power to the common DC bus 136.Reactive elements may be included in the backup AC power converter 133to smooth out variations in the supplied DC power.

According to various embodiments, the PRM application 119 may monitorthe rate of change in the voltage level of the common DC bus 136 and/orthe output of the primary AC power converter 133. A rapid change in thevoltage level may indicate excessive loading of the primary AC converter133 or a failure of the primary AC converter 133 and/or thecorresponding AC power source 129. If the rate of change in the voltageexceeds a predefined value or threshold, then the backup AC powerconverter 133 begins providing power to the common DC bus 136.

In some implementations, the primary AC power converter 133 supplies allof the power to the computing device 100 while the backup AC powerconverter 133 remains idle without supplying any power. In otherembodiments, the backup AC power converter 133 may provide a minimalamount of power when idle to reduce transient heating effects duringload transfer to the backup AC power converter 133. In response to thevoltage level or the rate of change in the voltage, the backup AC powerconverter 133 may assume the entire load while the primary AC powerconverter 133 becomes idle without supplying any power to the common DCbus 136. Alternatively, the backup AC power converter 133 may assume aportion of the load and the PRM application 119 may control load sharingbetween the primary and backup converters 133.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may also include combinations ofelements of FIGS. 1-3. For example, the embodiment of FIG. 3 may alsoinclude a diode (e.g., diode 253 of FIG. 2) between the backup AC powerconverter 133 and the common DC bus 136 as illustrated in FIG. 2.Another diode and/or isolation device may also be included between theprimary AC power converter 133 and the common DC bus 136.

Referring now to FIG. 4, shown is a flowchart illustrating one exampleof functionality of a power redundancy monitoring (PRM) application 119implemented by either of the processors of FIG. 1 or FIG. 3 according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure. It is understood that theflowchart of FIG. 4 provides merely an example of the many differenttypes of functional arrangements that may be employed to implement theoperation of the portion of the PRM application 119 as described herein.As an alternative, the flowchart of FIG. 4 may be viewed as depicting anexample of steps of a method implemented in the rack mounted computingdevice 100 (FIG. 1) according to one or more embodiments.

Beginning with block 403, operation of the power supply 123 (FIGS. 1-3)is monitored. If no change in the voltage level is detected in block406, then the PRM application 119 continues monitoring operation of thepower supply in block 403. If a change is detected, then the PRMapplication 119 compares the voltage level of the common DC bus 136(FIGS. 1-3) and/or of the primary AC power converter 133 (FIGS. 1-3) toa threshold in block 409. Alternatively, the rate of change of thevoltage level may be compared to a threshold.

If the threshold is not breached, then the PRM application 119 maymodify the operation of the primary AC power converter to adjust thevoltage level in block 413 and return to monitoring the power supplyoperation in block 403. If the threshold has been breached, then the PRMapplication 119 provides power from a backup AC power converter 133 inblock 416. The PRM application 119 may control the backup AC powerconverter 133 to provide all or a portion of the power for the computingdevice 100 while reducing or minimizing the transition effects such ascurrent and/or voltage spikes. The PRM application 119 may then returnto monitoring operation of the power supply 123 in block 403.

The PRM application 119 may also provide an indication of the operationof the backup AC power converter 133 in block 419 before returning tomonitoring the power supply operation. Indications may include, forexample, an audible alarm (e.g., using a speaker), a visual alarm (e.g.,using a light indicator), a messaging alarm (e.g., an email, textmessage, or other type of message), a flag (e.g., a software variableindicating an alarm condition to a monitoring system), or other type ofalarm. For example, the PRM application 119 may communicate anindication of backup AC power converter 133 operation to a powermanagement application of a management system. The power managementapplication may then inform system operators of the operation of thebackup AC power converter 133 for appropriate action or may initiateactions in response to the indication. Indications from multiplecomputing devices 100 may aid in fault isolation and restoration ofpower sources.

Where any component discussed herein such as the PRM application 119 isimplemented in the form of software, any one of a number of programminglanguages may be employed such as, for example, C, C++, C#, Objective C,Java, Javascript, Perl, PHP, Visual Basic, Python, Ruby, Delphi, Flash,or other programming languages.

A number of software components may be stored in the memories 106, 306and are executable by the respective processors 103, 303. In thisrespect, the term “executable” means a program file that is in a formthat can ultimately be run by a respective one of the processors 103,303. Examples of executable programs may be, for example, a compiledprogram that can be translated into machine code in a format that can beloaded into a random access portion of a respective one of the memories106, 306 and run by a respective one of the processors 103, 303, sourcecode that may be expressed in proper format such as object code that iscapable of being loaded into a random access portion of a respective oneof the memories 106, 306 and executed by a respective one of theprocessors 103, 303, or source code that may be interpreted by anotherexecutable program to generate instructions in a random access portionof a respective one of the memories 106, 306 to be executed by therespective processor 103, 303, etc. An executable program may be storedin any portion or component of a memory 106, 306 including, for example,random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), hard drive,solid-state drive, USB flash drive, memory card, optical disc such ascompact disc (CD) or digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, magnetictape, or other memory components.

Each of the memories 106, 306 is defined herein as including bothvolatile and nonvolatile memory and data storage components. Volatilecomponents are those that do not retain data values upon loss of power.Nonvolatile components are those that retain data upon a loss of power.Thus, each of the memories 106, 306 may comprise, for example, randomaccess memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), hard disk drives,solid-state drives, USB flash drives, memory cards accessed via a memorycard reader, floppy disks accessed via an associated floppy disk drive,optical discs accessed via an optical disc drive, magnetic tapesaccessed via an appropriate tape drive, and/or other memory components,or a combination of any two or more of these memory components. Inaddition, the RAM may comprise, for example, static random access memory(SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), or magnetic random accessmemory (MRAM) and other such devices. The ROM may comprise, for example,a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmableread-only memory (EEPROM), or other like memory device.

Also, each of the processors 103, 303 may represent multiple processorsand the memories 106, 306 may represent multiple memories that operatein parallel processing circuits, respectively. In such a case, each ofthe local interfaces 109 may comprise an appropriate network thatfacilitates communication between any two of the multiple processorsbetween any processor and any of the memories, or between any two of thememories, etc. Each of the local interfaces 109 may comprise additionalsystems designed to coordinate this communication, including, forexample, performing load balancing. Each processor 103, 303 may be ofelectrical or of some other available construction.

Although the PRM application 119 and other various systems describedherein may be embodied in software or code executed by general purposehardware as discussed above, as an alternative the same may also beembodied in dedicated hardware or a combination of software/generalpurpose hardware and dedicated hardware. If embodied in dedicatedhardware, each can be implemented as a circuit or state machine thatemploys any one of or a combination of a number of technologies. Thesetechnologies may include, but are not limited to, discrete logiccircuits having logic gates for implementing various logic functionsupon an application of one or more data signals, application specificintegrated circuits having appropriate logic gates, or other components,etc. Such technologies are generally well known by those skilled in theart and, consequently, are not described in detail herein.

The flowchart of FIG. 4 shows the functionality and operation of animplementation of various embodiments of the PRM application 119 asdescribed above. If embodied in software, each block may represent amodule, segment, or portion of code that comprises program instructionsto implement the specified logical function(s). The program instructionsmay be embodied in the form of source code that comprises human-readablestatements written in a programming language or machine code thatcomprises numerical instructions recognizable by a suitable executionsystem such as a processor 103, 303 in a computer system or othersystem. The machine code may be converted from the source code, etc. Ifembodied in hardware, each block may represent a circuit or a number ofinterconnected circuits to implement the specified logical function(s).

Although the flowchart of FIG. 4 shows a specific order of execution, itis understood that the order of execution may differ from that which isdepicted. For example, the order of execution of two or more blocks maybe scrambled relative to the order shown. Also, two or more blocks shownin succession in FIG. 4 may be executed concurrently or with partialconcurrence. Further, in some embodiments, one or more of the blocksshown in FIG. 4 may be skipped or omitted. In addition, any number ofcounters, state variables, warning semaphores, or messages might beadded to the logical flow described herein, for purposes of enhancedutility, accounting, performance measurement, or providingtroubleshooting aids, etc. It is understood that all such variations arewithin the scope of the present disclosure.

Also, any logic or application described herein, including the PRMapplication 119, that comprises software or code can be embodied in anynon-transitory computer-readable medium for use by or in connection withan instruction execution system such as, for example, a processor in acomputer system or other system. In this sense, the logic may comprise,for example, statements including instructions and declarations that canbe fetched from the computer-readable medium and executed by theinstruction execution system. In the context of the present disclosure,a “computer-readable medium” can be any medium that can contain, store,or maintain the logic or application described herein for use by or inconnection with the instruction execution system. The computer-readablemedium can comprise any one of many physical media such as, for example,magnetic, optical, or semiconductor media. More specific examples of asuitable computer-readable medium would include, but are not limited to,magnetic tapes, magnetic floppy diskettes, magnetic hard drives, memorycards, solid-state drives, USB flash drives, or optical discs. Also, thecomputer-readable medium may be a random access memory (RAM) including,for example, static random access memory (SRAM) and dynamic randomaccess memory (DRAM), or magnetic random access memory (MRAM). Inaddition, the computer-readable medium may be a read-only memory (ROM),a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmableread-only memory (EEPROM), or other type of memory device.

While the embodiments of FIGS. 1-4 are discussed with respect to asingle backup AC power converter 133, a plurality of backup powerconverters 133 may also be utilized. Each of the backup AC powerconverters 133 may be configured to operate at a corresponding voltagelevel or may be controlled by the PRM application 119 to provide powerto the common DC bus 136 as appropriate. The PRM application 119 mayalso control the backup AC power converters 133 to share the load of thecomputing device 100.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of thepresent disclosure are merely possible examples of implementations setforth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure.Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-describedembodiment(s) without departing substantially from the spirit andprinciples of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations areintended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure andprotected by the following claims.

Therefore, the following is claimed:
 1. A method, comprising: providingdirect current (DC) power at a first voltage level to a common DC bus ina power supply in a rack mounted computing device, the DC powerconverted from alternating current (AC) power received from a first ACpower source; providing regulated DC power from the common DC bus toelements of the rack mounted computing device; and providing DC power ata second voltage level to the common DC bus through a diode in responseto the first voltage level dropping below the second voltage level, theDC power provided through the diode converted from AC power receivedfrom a second AC power source; and disconnecting a source of the DCpower at the first voltage level from the common DC bus in response tocomparison of the first voltage level to a predefined threshold.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the regulated DC power is provided at aplurality of predefined voltages.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein theDC power at the first voltage level is provided to the common DC bus viaa second diode.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising couplingthe power supply to the first and second AC power sources through aplurality of quick disconnect connectors.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the source of the DC power at the first voltage level is aprimary AC power converter and a source of the DC power at the secondvoltage level is a backup AC power converter.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the rack mounted computing device is a rack mounted server.
 7. Anon-transitory computer readable medium embodying a program executablein at least one computing device, where execution of the program by theat least one computing device causes the at least one computing deviceto at least: monitor a voltage level of direct current (DC) powerprovided to a common DC bus of a rack mounted computing device by aprimary alternating current (AC) power converter receiving AC power froma first AC power source; and facilitate provision of DC power to thecommon DC bus by a backup AC power converter receiving AC power from asecond AC power source in response to a change in the voltage levelprovided by the primary AC power converter; and disconnect the primaryAC power converter from the common DC bus in response to a comparison ofthe voltage level to a predefined threshold.
 8. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 7, wherein the at least one computingdevice is the rack mounted computing device.
 9. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 7, wherein the program causes the atleast one computing device to initiate provision of DC power from thebackup AC power converter to the common DC bus in response to a changein the voltage level provided by the primary AC power converterbreaching a predefined threshold.
 10. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 9, wherein the program causes the at least onecomputing device to initiate provision of DC power from the backup ACpower converter to the common DC bus in response to the voltage levelprovided by the primary AC power converter dropping below the predefinedthreshold.
 11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9,wherein the program causes the at least one computing device to initiateprovision of DC power from the backup AC power converter to the commonDC bus in response to a rate of change in the voltage level provided bythe primary AC power converter exceeding the predefined threshold. 12.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein theprogram causes the at least one computing device to provide anindication of an operational status of the backup AC power converter inresponse to breaching the predefined threshold.
 13. A method,comprising: providing direct current (DC) power converted by a firstalternating current (AC) power converter in a power supply in a rackmounted computing device, to a common DC bus in the power supply;monitoring a voltage level provided by the first AC power converter; andin response to detecting a change in the voltage level provided by thefirst AC power converter, controlling provision of DC power converted bya second AC power converter in the power supply to the common DC bus,where the first AC power converter is disconnected from the common DCbus in response to the voltage level provided by the first AC powerconverter dropping below a voltage level of the second AC powerconverter.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first AC powerconverter receives power from one of a plurality of AC power sources,and the second AC power converter receives power from another one of theplurality of AC power sources.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein theprovision of the DC power by the second AC power converter is initiatedin response to a comparison of the voltage level provided by the firstAC power converter to a predefined threshold.
 16. The method of claim13, wherein the provision of the DC power by the second AC powerconverter is initiated in response to a rate of change in the voltagelevel provided by the first AC power converter breaching a predefinedthreshold.
 17. The method of claim 15, further comprising providing anindication of an operational status of the second AC power converter inresponse to the comparison of the voltage level provided by the first ACpower converter to the predefined threshold.
 18. The method of claim 17,wherein the indication is provided to a power management application.